Information Chapter

About the Tanzania Sanitation Project

The Tanzania Sanitation Project is a non-profit mission aiming for a healthier, stronger, greener environment for Tanzania. The project was established and is currently operated by students of the United Nations International School in Manhattan, New York City. Growing up with international backgrounds and being exposed to such a tremendous diversity of cultures, we are aware of the beautiful contributions, talents and gifts each and every country has to offer to our world. However, what this global knowledge also provides us with is information regarding the monstrous problems that drown our earth. We, as international students and as the future of our world, refuse to sit here and watch our home and its people be deprived of achieving their full capacity as a result their weakening living conditions that impair their great potential. Our future is in our hands, and together we can make a difference.

Proper waste management is a necessity for today's civilization in order to maintain a healthy, sanitary life, yet countless third-world countries are deprived of this need. The improper management of wastes triggers severe environmental and health problems, with the consequences of poor waste management on human health and the environment becoming more noticeable each day. Our project aims to implement a waste management system in Tanzania, one country where improper waste management uncontrollably affects and burdens the population's daily lives. If we succeed in establishing a proper waste management system in one country, the opportunities for this and other countries to grow are limitless, and will serve as a pilot for other countries also enduring the brutalities of improper waste management.

Our aim to improve the living conditions of Tanzania through proper waste management may be remedy to only one of the countless problems facing our earth, yet it is the foundation to a beautiful beginning of what could lead to a healthier life for those in need

Our Mission

The Objective:

The principal aim of this project is to improve the welfare of Tanzania through health education and environmental sanitation. These goals will be accomplished by implementing a waste management system in each village in order to enhance the general health and hygiene of the inhabitants, by raising the villagers’ awareness as to how to dispose of their wastes, and by recruiting local participation and efforts to dispose of their wastes in a proper, appropriate manner.

One of our primary focuses will be to advocate environmental sanitation by utilizing local participation in the implementation of our system, and by raising the villagers’ awareness concerning proper waste disposal and garbage collection. This increased awareness will further ensure long-term sanitation sustainability and proper hygiene.

Another chief aim of the project is to provide employment opportunities in order to guarantee that the waste management systems are properly maintained and that the benefits that will emerge from the project are fully sustained. Steps that will be taken for this to be achieved are primarily to raise awareness of the proper methods concerning waste disposal and collection, and then progress into the training and organization of jobs. Recruiting local participation will provide occupational opportunities for those who are in dire need of a secure job. Villagers who wish to partake in this sort of occupation will be trained in taking responsibility of the waste management systems and making sure they are consistently upheld. Local engagement in the waste management systems will allow villagers to take control of their hygienic future and provide them with stable employment. This particular objective is a crucial aspect of the project, as it ensures long-term advancements in environmental sanitation, as opposed to ineffective, short-term benefits. By and large, this project has the capability of reducing diseases and pollution, achieving general and environmental health and improving hygiene conditions, which are severe consequences of the poor waste management systems and disposals in modern-day Tanzania, in addition to providing employment opportunities to the community.

Aims:

• Sustainable waste management systems in targeted areas including collection, transportation and land filling.
• Prevention of pollution and littering.
• Educating locals on environmental sanitation and the need for a proper management of waste.
• Involvement and participation of the Tanzania community.
• Employment opportunities.

Anticipated Impacts of Tanzania Sanitation Project:

• Efficient waste disposal and collection system
• A cleaner, healthier environment
• Each year over 200 million tons of human waste and huge quantities of solid waste are uncollected and untreated around the world. This fouls the environment and exposes million of children to disease and squalor. Improved environmental sanitation leads to less environmental degradation, increased sustainability of environmental resources, and a safer atmosphere for children.
• Lower mortality rates
• Due to decreased rate of diarrhea and other diseases transmitted through wastes.
• 88% of all diarrheal deaths are due to poor hygiene and lack of access to sanitation.
• Diarrhea: 2nd highest single cause of child mortality.
• Ratio by which improved sanitation reduces diarrhea-related deaths: 2/3.
• Awareness of the significance of proper sanitation
• Long-term sanitation sustainability
• Decreased rates in unemployment

Source: UNICEF International Year of Sanitation 2008 – Information Package

Problem Statement

Poor environmental sanitation is a predominant issue in today’s developing world. Tanzania is one of the countless countries lacking adequate resources that are needed in order to achieve environmental cleanliness. One of the more crucial and impacting consequences of the lack of resources involves the unsafe and inappropriate disposal of solid waste, which has created considerable health problems and very unpleasant living conditions in countless countries. The waste generated in Tanzania as well as in other countries that do not have proper disposal means creates unsanitary living conditions and detrimental health concerns, such as diarrhea and malnutrition, in addition to a range of sicknesses and diseases.

Internationally, these problems triggered by improper sanitation efforts can be traced back to about 68% of all deaths for children under the age of five. Today, it is estimated that there are about 2.6 billion people (980 million children) living in the developing world who have yet to gain access to proper sanitation means, of which 572 million are living in Africa. Approximately 62% of Africans lack the access to adequate sanitation facilities. This results in health and living conditions being crippled, hence affecting nearly every aspect of life.

In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, on average, only 1800 of 2600 tons of waste thrown away is collected and disposed of properly. When discarded waste is poorly managed, piled on the ground, and left to decay, it can draw pests, snakes, and other rodents and cause environmental pollution that can result in the spread of toxins or disease in a community. When children play near or in worse cases, in the waste, they are more likely to be exposed to agents, pathogens and infections that can lead to conditions such as malaria and diarrhea. In Tanzania, without proper waste management diseases such as dysentery, diarrhea, scabies, eye infections, typhoid, cholera and intestinal parasites can spread quickly in persons and communities. Each year, it is estimated that 100,000 people die from malaria in Tanzania, 90% of which are mothers and young children. Worldwide, 8% of children die of malaria each year, and 17% from diarrhea related infections, 88% of which is due to contaminated water sources. Even more alarming is that the sole number of children dying from diarrhea worldwide, coming to approximately 5000 deaths each day.

In addition to the rotting smell in the streets and the dangers of parasites, the garbage piled in the streets also makes the environment more susceptible to air born infections as well as infections in the soil and water. The improperly discharged waste often ends up contaminating the water source in rural villages and even some urban areas. Today, it is estimated that only 40% of the rural population have access to hygienic drinking water sources. With over 50% of the people susceptible to infections carried by water viruses, the results can be deleterious for the health of Tanzania, as the population is susceptible to disease and other perilous side effects. Another concern with contaminated water is that this water is used to grow crops in many villages, resulting in loss or improper growth of crops. With this being a considerable percentage of Tanzania’s GDP, crippling of crops means crippling of the economy.

On a more global perspective, 70% of the industrial waste in developing countries is not properly disposed of. It creates similar living conditions, health concerns, and economic stress on the local economies. In some places, the improper waste disposal also negates a lot of tourism, which brings great revenue to many countries. For example, in 1999, tourism accounted for 16% of Tanzania’s GDP. Last year however, this number went down considerably. One reason for this is the high risk of infection and disease, a main concern with improper waste management.

Overall, the implementation of proper waste management systems is critically essential to the growth of a community and even a nation. Improper waste management can affect a community in every aspect of life, including economic, social, and cultural. The unsanitary living conditions endured in various parts of Tanzania and all over the world can be prevented with the implementation of proper ways to dispose of waste in both rural and urban communities.

Good health is indispensable to any community that aspires to grow. It means cleaner environment, a stronger working force, more tourism to help the economy, and longer life expectancy. The proper disposal of wastes would immeasurably aid a community economically, socially, and culturally. A community with good health and long life expectancy also gains a sense of pride and confidence in itself that contributes the strength of their cherished culture.

Proper disposal of waste in Tanzania and countries all around the world is essential to the growth of its community. Improper waste disposal results in poor living conditions for children and adults. The indisposed of garbage ends up in piles on the street which produce breeding grounds for insects and vermin that could possibly be carrying fatal diseases. In addition, it heightens the risk of infections getting into the soil, weakening the earth where citizens grow their crops. That, in combination with contaminated water, stunts the growth of crops that many rely on as a source of living. The result is the weakening or bruising of the local economy. Contaminated water also becomes dangerous for children and adults to drink, as it carries diseases and infections that can cause malaria or diarrhea. These infections along with others also present in the air kill many Tanzanians and people world wide each year. Weak health in communities affects every aspect of life, including the society, the economy, and the culture. For these compelling reasons, proper disposal of industrial waste in both urban and rural areas is essential to the growth of a community, a society, and a nation, and must be achieved.

Executive Committee

Katie Simon
Project President
ksimon@tanzaniasanitation.org
1 (917) 239-1134

Ms. Maria Kerins
Administrator
Founder of Children-B-Unite
Goodwill Ambassador of WAMA-Tanzania
mkerins@tanzaniasanitation.org

Mario Fernandez
Assistant to Strategic Planning and Research Team

Hannah Fussell
Co-Head of Fundraising

Galila Gray
Media Relations Coordinator

Lungile Magubane
Fundraising Team Coordinator

Faris Raiani
Secretary and Research Team Coordinator

Elena Ruyter
Head of Strategic Planning and Research Team Administrator

Jordan Sandrini-Cooke
Head of Technology
Website Designer and Developer

Alexia Victor
Co-Head of Fundraising

References [Works Cited]

Electricity, Fuel, and Fertilizer From Municipal and Industrial Waste in Tanzania: a Biogas Plant for Africa. United Nations Development Programme. http://www.gefweb.org.

Kumuyi, A.j., and A.g. Onibokun. "Governance and Waste Management in Africa." The International Development Research Center. http://www.idrc.ca.

Lugalla, Joe P. "ECONOMIC REFORMS AND HEALTH CONDITIONS OF THE URBAN POOR IN TANZANIA." African Studies Quarterly. University of New Hampshire. http://web.africa.ufl.edu.

"Solid Waste Management Manual." Water, Engineering, and Development Centre. Loughborough University. http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk.

"Tanzania Urban Livelihood Challenges." International Food Policy Research. http://www.ifpri.org/themes/mp14/profiles/daressalaam.pdf